Meet Sam Curtis | Illustrator & Artist

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sam Curtis and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sam, Let’s talk about principles and values – what matters to you most?
This is probably going to sound super cheesy, but the thing that matters to me most (with regards to art especially) is staying true to yourself. As cliche as that sounds, I’ve battled with myself for a long time, worried that people would view me as a weirdo for making unusual art, especially if it involves nudity or heavy adult themes. It took me an annoyingly long time to realise that if I want to draw a seagull with long testicles, then why the hell shouldn’t I! I still second guess myself a lot when deciding what to do, but I’m getting more and more confident as time passes by. Who knows, in a few years time maybe I’ll have enough confidence to draw a seagull with even longer testicles. Watch this space. Seriously though, I may sound overly flippant, but I really believe staying true to yourself is so important in being creative and making quality art, just as it is in many other aspects of life. Another thing that I value considerably is not taking yourself too seriously. I feel that Art especially can often be overly pretentious, which I know puts a lot of people off. So, I like to produce art and illustrations that involve a lot of humour, whether it be through some sort of social commentary, a play on pop-culture, or simply by drawing a pigeon with large nipples. Life can be pretty tough, especially so in these fairly bleak times, so I want to do my part to help relieve some of that tension and make art that people can enjoy and have fun with.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Probably the best part of what I do is getting feedback of how much people enjoy what I do. Hearing that people share my work in their various chat groups etc for their friends to enjoy is awesome to hear. I suppose it’s a sort of validation, not that art should be about that, but it makes those late night, 4 cans deep, stressed out drawing sessions feel worth the effort. Sometimes the fear hits, and I’m like what the hell am I doing, I’m a 32 year old man spending his free time drawing a babies head on a deer body, am I ok? And the answer is yes, I’m fine. So thanks to those who keep me going! What I’m really enjoying doing at the moment are a series of interactive drawings, which are a parody of those old ‘choose your own adventure’ style books. In which you’re given a number of options and you can choose one and swipe along to the corresponding number to decide your fate. It gives me so many directions in which I can go, and the opportunity to incorporate text into my art, which I really enjoy playing with. I really love trying to outwit the viewer, and mess around with their preconceptions and choices that they might make, hopefully sending them down a completely unexpected path. If this sounds like it might tickle your interest, give them a try! Sometimes however, I like to draw something straight up surreal, I don’t think art has to be complicated, it can be as simple as looking at a picture and just enjoying it for what it is. I have no real agenda with my work, but sometimes people see a deeper meaning in some of my art, which is fantastic. Its really interesting to see how different people interpret certain things, and I love to hear what people think. If you want to interpret my drawing of a Japanese lady with old mans faces instead of boobs as a commentary on the sexual exploitation of young women by monied old men, then go ahead, if you just think it’s a funny image, thats also great. I put my stuff out there for people to enjoy in whichever way they please. As an artist I’m still developing, and will probably never stop. I’ve got some great ideas in the pipeline that I hope people will enjoy as much as I enjoying making them. I’d also love to do more collaborations in the future, so get in touch and let’s make something weird!

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Well I live right in the heart of Osaka so there’s an absolute ton of stuff to do. Osaka sits right in-between Kobe, Kyoto and Nara, all within a roughly 45 minute train ride. With all those awesome places on your doorstep, theres all sorts to do and see. However, if you’re spending any time longer than 5 minutes with me, chances are we’ll be getting a proper skinful and giving our livers a solid kicking in one of the billions of bars around town. There’s hundreds of tiny independent bars around, some of which have daft gimmicks going on, for example a bar themed like the interior of a submarine. It’s not exactly high culture, but still good fun for a visit. Osaka is such a cool place to just walk around, it’s a great place to just sit by the street, or by the river, and watch the world go by for a while. Once you’re tired of the big city life, shoot off down south to Nara to get some of that country air, and get sexually assaulted by a deer. What more could you want!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’m extremely thankful to all my friends and family who’ve been nothing but supportive of me in whatever I do. I’m extremely lucky in this regard. A huge part of what keeps me going are the little messages and whatnot from random people all over the world on social media, saying how much they enjoy my work. Social media gets a pretty bum rap, and it does have a lot of pitfalls. However, through it I’ve been able to make friendships and connections from all over the world that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise. Lastly, to those who’ve had their skin permanently inked with my artwork, there’s no greater honour. Who would have thought that, curtesy of myself, somebody, somewhere is walking around with a tattoo of a shrimp playing the trumpet on their arm.

Instagram: Samuo_art